SC to hear Himachal’s plea on Shanan power project on Nov 8, asks Punjab and Centre to respond

SHIMLA: Agreeing to hear the Himachal Pradesh government’s preliminary objections to the Punjab government’s suit to restrain the Congress government in the hill state from claiming possession of the Shanan Hydropower Project in Jogindernagar upon the expiry of a 99-year lease, the Supreme Court on Monday directed both Punjab and the central government to respond.
The bench, comprising Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Pankaj Mithal, while posting the case hearing for November 8, clarified that the court would first address the Himachal Pradesh government’s preliminary objections to the Punjab government’s original suit regarding the 110-megawatt pre-independence era hydel project. As the 99-year lease expired on March 2, the Punjab government had approached the apex court seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the Himachal Pradesh government from taking possession of the hydel power project.
The Himachal Pradesh government submitted before the top court that in 1925, the then king of Mandi leased the land to the central government for 99 years to set up the Shanan Power Project, and the lease ended in March this year. Therefore, Himachal Pradesh now has a rightful claim over the project, and the Punjab government’s suit cannot be entertained by the apex court under Article 131 since it is based on a treaty and agreement beyond the court’s jurisdiction in such cases, said Himachal Pradesh advocate general Anup Kumar Rattan.